Similarities Between $ 100 Bill And The Great Gatsby

The book The Great Gatsby has many musical elements that connect to modern-day rap. The masterpiece of rap "$100 Bill" by Jay-Z shows many of the elements shown in the book. One connection between the book and the song is the references to making money in illegal ways, the carelessness of their children, and the connection between cars and their meaning.

One connection between both the song and the book is the ways that money can be made illegally. In The Great Gatsby, the text states, "I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him" (Fitzgerald, 103). In the song "$100 Bill" it states, "New heroines, new marilyns, move coke through Maryland… No prohibition for my coalition" (Jay-Z, "$100 Bill"). Both of these quotes involve the illegal sale of drugs, also known as bootlegging. The book takes place during the 1920s when prohibition laws were in place and the sale of alcohol was illegal. The song talks about the sale of drugs which is still illegal to this day. Together these quotes help show how Gatsby got his money illegally.

Another connection between the book and story is how in both they do not

In the song "$100 Bill" it says, "I park things, Yellow cars… Low life, I'm crawling out, 911, I Porsched it out,"(Jay-Z, "$100 Bill"). This quote shows how the yellow car in the book that crashed was yellow, which represents danger. It also talks about crawling out of a vehicle that was "Porsched out", which indicates that the car was wrecked. In the book The Great Gatsby, it states, "'It was a yellow car,' 'See the accident?'"(Fitzgerald, 107). This quote shows how the accident was caused by a yellow car, which represents danger. The danger was the death of Myrtle, which was caused by the yellow car. Both of these quotes show how the color yellow corresponds to danger and how it caused bad actions in the song and